to ally / to unite / to join / (poetry) antithetical couplet
联
=
关
+
耳
:
Li Qingzhao (li) invented a machine able to combine (联) her hair into braids, and she is trying it out for the first time in the anthill's kitchen (an2). Just as the machine starts Li Qingzhao realizes it is going to combine both of her ears (耳) into one braid she quickly hits the machine's off button (关).
to associate (cognitively) / to make an associative connection / mental association / word prediction and auto-complete functions of input method editing programs
to learn / to study / to imitate / science / -ology
学
=
小
+
冖
+
子
:
Xu Xian wants to study scienceology and learn more about daisies. Just inside the elevator's kitchen, he put some daisies into a prize cup and covered them with a cooking top. He wants to study the growth rate of the daisies depending on the pH of the water in the prize cup.